


A Case Won

by SemperAeternumQue



Series: Finding Your Place: A Silmarillion Modern AU [1]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: AU, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Court Cases, Custody Battle, Families of Choice, Family Feels, Gen, How Do I Tag, I literally have no idea what I'm doing, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Immigration, Unconventional Families, i wrote this at midnight, part of a massive modern AU that may or may not get published
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 11:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18893590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SemperAeternumQue/pseuds/SemperAeternumQue
Summary: The front page of a local newspaper, Thursday March 6th, 1980. A court case has been won and Maglor is an emotional train-wreak.





	A Case Won

**Author's Note:**

> Guys OH MY FUCKING GOD, THIS IS THE FIRST BIT OF MY MODERN AU. Yes, I know the caps were a bit much, but OH MY GOD. I have had this modern AU in my head for soooooooo long, and this is the first piece of it I'm actually posting! I have no clue if the rest will ever get posted, but enjoy this at least! (Actually that was a lie, I have a small bit I'm going to post Wednesday, but I'm not sure about anything but that.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about court cases and custody battles, so forgive me if I get anything wrong. I also know literally nothing about the U.S immigration system, so if I screwed something up, please tell me! Also I wrote this in the middle of the night, so if I misspelled anything/messed up the grammar, let me know!
> 
> Warning: This contains implied/referenced child abandonment. 
> 
> As always, please leave feedback!

**Local Immigrant Brothers Win Custody of Twin Boys in Landmark Case**  
Judge says this could be a hopeful sign for families of choice all throughout the United States

Maglor and Maedhros Finwean, green-card-holding immigrants, won custody of twin brothers Elrond and Elros Doriathim-Marina on Tuesday, marking the end to a drawn-out and emotional court case which has lasted nearly a month.

According to the brothers, Maglor found the children on the streets of New York City five years ago, the twins having been abandoned by first their father and then their mother. He brought them home, where the brothers took the twins into their one-bedroom apartment and cared for them to the best of their abilities.

At the time, Maedhros was twenty-five and Maglor was twenty-one. The boys were five.

According to court records, the brothers’ custody of Elrond and Elros has never been contested by the boys’ birth parents. Instead, it was the Child Protective Services that wished to take them away from Maglor and Maedhros. Local judge Dorice Kelmore presided over the case, from the drama of the brothers’ initial loss to the happiness of today’s announcement.

“I never try to rip families apart.” Judge Kelmore told this paper. “These four clearly love each other very much, so while they lost the initial suit, I see no reason why the Finweans shouldn’t be granted custody. They are financially stable, Maedhros has a bachelor's degree and a degree in law, and Maglor is well on his way to becoming a singer. They also have a large extended family, so there’s always a relative to help care for the children.”

Careful searching of New York City birth records reveals that Elrond and Elros were born in 1970 to Earendil Marina and Elwing Doriathim, who appear to have cared for them for the first few years of their lives. Immigration records show that Earendil Marina sailed to Europe in 1974 and does not appear to have returned. The twins were four years old at the time of his departure.

According to the court testimony of the younger boy, Elrond Doriathim-Marina, now Elrond Finwean, the twins’ mother left them at a playground in Central Park at age five. Instead of accepting help from a park ranger, the already wary twins spent several weeks sleeping in Central Park.

Eventually, a man by the name of Maglor Finwean found them and took them home to his brother, Maedhros Finwean, and the twins have resided with the brothers ever since.

This paper was able to get interviews with all members of the unusual family, excerpts of which are seen below.

Maglor Finwean was very emotional, but he managed to tell us “I am just so happy. So so happy. I cannot believe they can stay with us.”

Maedhros Finwean said: “Logically, there was no reason to take them in. No reason to add two more mouths to feed, no reason to fight to keep them. But Elrond and Elros are the best things that have ever happened to me, and I will never regret that Kano found them on his way home from work. Never.”

Elros Finwean told this paper, “We have a right to choose who looks after us. And I wanted to stay with our parents [Maglor and Maedhros]. Who’d want parents who abandoned them or to be in an orphanage?”

Elrond Finwean very calmly informed this paper that he would fight tooth and nail to stay with the Finwean brothers. “I would fight with everything I have to have them be my parents. They have always cared for us, something which Earendil and Elwing didn’t ever do. Judge Kelmore made the right choice. I’m glad we get to stay.”

Each member of the family seemed delighted with the ruling.

According to Judge Kelmore, this case may offer new hope to unconventional families all across the U.S. While not every family of choice is a good one, and not every stranger who picks a child off the street has as good intentions as Maglor did, this family certainly seems to have worked out for all involved.

As Judge Kelmore told us, “If Maglor hadn’t picked up those kids and Maedhros hadn’t agreed to take them in, they certainly would not be where they are right now, and that’s in a stable, loving home. The story of two children on the streets of New York would not have had the happy ending it did if a starving musician hadn’t stopped to ask some children if they had a home.”

This paper for one is glad that the family found a happy ending.

**Author's Note:**

> Maglor and Maedhros are definitely European immigrants, but I don't know from where yet.
> 
> Also, Elrond and Elros are not actually related to Maglor and Maedhros because I couldn't figure out how to make the timelines work. So Earendil is NOT Idril's son, he's actually older than Maedhros. 
> 
> Judge Dorice Kelmore is a random OC of mine who probably will never show up again, I just needed a judge.


End file.
